Purple Diamond Marketing Blog

OK, so that is probably a strange title for today’s Purple Diamond Marketing Blog, but as I listened to the news talk about Groundhog Day and if the Groundhog will see his shadow to help us know if winter will soon be over I laughed and realized it is much like the trends in marketing.  In the past couple of years, small business owners have scrambled to keep up with ALL the latest and greatest marketing tools to promote their business.  My clients and many business owners continue to struggle to know what works and what doesn’t and how to spend their time and money.  The questions are constant…“What is social media, have you heard about Facebook, do I really have to “tweet”, why do I have to have a listing on Linkedin?  How about Blogging, will it really help my business? I just heard about Google+ and what is that new thing on Facebook? Should I be doing video and posting on YouTube? By the way, how many sites on the internet do I need to list my website? Hey, my web designer said my site is not coming up on searches so he suggested I use some Word Press format and add content daily so I guess I now need to sink more money in to doing a new website? By the way, do you really think that QR Codes are the latest and greatest and helping my print marketing?” These are just a handful of the barrage of questions I get from small business owners who have no time to research the trends in marketing, but really just want to know if they sink time and money in to these that it will result in sales.

Much like Groundhog Day and the old belief that if the little critter sees his shadow there will be 6 more weeks of winter, business owners are trying these new marketing trends hoping they will lead to more clients.  But, for a small business or sole proprietor testing these new trends can exhaust resources quickly.  Ten minutes on Facebook leads to hours and the cost to maintain Blogs and other social media sites with creative content that supports your brand and brings customers closer can be challenging.  So, do you refuse to participate and hope that the reports about companies growing their business with the help of these trends is all a crazy superstition like Groundhog Day? Or, do you join in the fun and get some help from professionals who can help you to decide the best way for YOUR business to use the tools without wasting time or additional money?

Well, I just heard on the news that the Groundhog saw his shadow and we will now have 6 more weeks of winter.  Hard to believe with the mild weather we have had in Massachusetts this year, but that is what they predict.  And, the prediction about the latest and greatest marketing trends is also that this is how businesses will continue to gain customer loyalty and sales.  So, if you are reading this Blog and you still haven’t created a strategy for how to work all of this in to your marketing portfolio, please contact Purple Diamond or another marketing/social media specialist.  Purple Diamond specializes with small businesses and helping them make some sense of all the new things that come their way.

All my best to your success!~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

1.)  Maintain a customer data base and enter all customers and prospects in this system and continue to update with notes about their birthday, hobbies, family, their likes and dislikes, etc.

2.) Make a list of topics for future press releases to use during the year and go beyond sending them to just the newspaper.  Pitch them to a radio or TV station and self-promote them on-line with social media.

3.) Have regular brainstorm sessions on new products and services; advertising concepts; taglines; social campaigns for on-line marketing; contest ideas and sales promotions; and review of what your competitors are doing and what you offer that is different from them!           [note: if you do not have anyone to brainstorm with be sure to consider hiring a marketing coach like Purple Diamond!]

4.) Set-up strategic alliances and partnerships.

5.) Set stretch goals and action items to achieve them for each month, quarter, year, 5 year and beyond.  Be sure you create an overall marketing plan, but be organized and disciplined to have a weekly plan of meetings and action items written down prior to the start of your week! PLAN for success!

6.) Update website on a regular basis and maintain an on-line strong social media campaign to drive traffic to your site. Consider launching a thoughtful email marketing campaign that draws attention and offers useful information so that you have a greater open click rate.

7.) Be sure to THANK your customers and offer excellent customer support. Consider having a special customer service fun event to invite your clients and top prospects to as a way to show them that they are appreciated! If your budget is small and does not allow for this be sure to at least take the time to send a hand-written note thanking them for their business.

8.) Attend networking groups, join the local chamber and participate in charitable organizations that give back to the community that your business belongs to.

9.) Know your numbers, measure results and ASK other business owners what they have used that has had a significant impact on their business.

10.) Work with a Marketing Coach who understands your market and what challenges you face and how to get you the results you need today!

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

If you own your own business and your marketing and sales efforts this year are just “OK”, do you want more? Seems like a silly question, but it might be the reason you are not getting the results today that you want for your business.  During tough economic times there is always a large percentage of companies that have no growth or fail, but there is also the ones that seem to gain large market share and thrive.   So why are some businesses doing well and others are living with “just OK”, much depends on attitude and the willingness to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. But sometimes it can be that the owner of the small to mid-size business is at a loss for knowing what else they can do. There is a blind spot that they do not even know exists and that blind spot has been created from working year after year in a better economy and never having to look for new ways and ideas to help grow their business.

Business owners who want more are getting help today for their business by hiring marketing coaches and business consultants who are able to bring a fresh view to what can bring your company from OK to great.  Purple Diamond has helped over 50 local businesses in the past couple of years with affordable and effective marketing coaching and services with the emphasis on “success”.   The coaching service was created after a year of hearing local business owners say that they were overwhelmed with the sluggish economy, decline in their business and the confusion of what really works for advertising today.  Most of these owners were sole proprietors who didn’t want to take their worry home to their family, but really needed someone to share their frustrations with and to brainstorm new and innovative ideas.  So, Purple Diamond created a marketing coaching service that allowed businesses to hire a coach for a couple hours a month.

If you are OK with “OK” or really don’t want to have better sales, then this solution is not the right one for you.  However, if you want your business to be better than good consider hiring a marketing coach or business consultant to work with you today!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

This past year when I attended a business networking event in October the host requested we wear costumes and I was voted to have the “Most Original Costume” that night.  Though I was flattered to have been voted “Most Original”, only a handful of attendees at that event dressed in costumes. The room was filled with business owners who came to the event to network with other business owners and help their businesses stand out, but only 5% actually dressed in costumes.  What does this have to do with having the most original marketing for your business? EVERYTHING!  If you want to have the “Most Original Marketing” you have to participate 100% and be willing to standout and be noticed. You can’t be voted “Most Original” if you choose to do nothing.

Not all business owners like to have the spotlight shined on them, but they do know that in today’s competitive market your business depends on having creative marketing that gets you noticed in a positive way.  If you were the person in high school who rarely raised your hand in class and always wanted to blend in with the crowd, you will have to hire a top marketing specialist or work with a consultant to help your business get noticed in a positive way that leads to exceptional sales.   You will also need to be ready to listen to their ideas and empower them to take actions on behalf of your business.  “Original” marketing is called that because it is not something that your competitors are currently doing so it requires stepping outside your comfort zone and trying new ideas that may feel strange and awkward.   The key to success is to do something extraordinary and if you never try anything new with your business you will not discover what real potential your business has.

Beyond hiring specialists in the field of marketing, another tip to help you on your way to having effective marketing and advertising is to spend an hour a day reading marketing books, articles,  and blogs and attending seminars that will help you to stay current on what the trends are now and what forecasters are seeing for the future in your field.  Knowledge has always been key and one of the many reasons why the most successful companies require employees to attend educational trainings every year in their field so that they remain current in the tools and technology available to them.  Start the New Year off with a great marketing team that will help you create the most original marketing campaigns  and achieve the success you need right now!

All my best to your success~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Thanksgiving is over and businesses are in the home stretch for additional sales to end the year with their best effort for 2010, but this is also the time you need to review your marketing and advertising efforts and consider what you need to change and what efforts will be repeated and or improved.  Do you know your numbers? Have you looked closely at your existing client list and determined which ones are your top 20% key accounts? Do you know which clients are using up the most man hours with the least gain? Have you created a strong marketing strategy for the New Year which will assist you in reaching at least 50% of your 2011 annual sales goals by April 1st?

A successful year in sales depends on you  knowing where you have been, what worked or didn’t work, who your key accounts are, and what plan you need to launch to get you to the goal you desire.  This task is easy if you have kept detailed records of your business with active and inactive client accounts, detailed records of your marketing and advertising costs and performance, and continued to read blogs and published white papers about your industry and where it is trending towards.  If you are not using a business CRM system to help you keep this essential sales information for your business up to date and easily accessible, it is time to invest in the tools to help you be successful with your business.  And, if you are constantly losing files or wasting time looking for things in your office consider hiring a professional organizer to get your office space ready for the New Year!

After you have gathered all your information it is time to put it on paper so that it is easier to map-out a strategy for the New Year. Consider the core values and beliefs of your company and list these at the top of the  paper so that you do not lose the focus of why you are in business.   After that, start with a SWOT analysis. List 3-5 of your businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities  and threats in 2010? After that, list your client accounts based on revenue generated starting from the top key account to the ones that produce very little return, but require the most time invested to service. Finally, look at the marketing efforts and actions your company employed in 2010 and list which months these were applied and rate each on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest in terms of generating results that led to sales.  After you have everything down on paper spend a few days really with your marketing and sales team analyzing what worked and didn’t work in 2010 and if the time you spent with lower level clients might have been better served with your key accounts.  Creating a successful strategic plan for  2011 will be easier after you have completed this annual review and really have a complete knowledge of what you did right and what could have changed in 2010.  Do you need to add a blog or expand your social media marketing? Have you considered if it is time to spend more of your advertising budget with a visual form of advertising like TV or the use of video on your website and on YouTube? Are you being seen as a leader in your field and getting regular speaking engagements to talk about your industry? Are you offering the best customer service to your clients and getting regular referrals from them?  Have you considered additional revenue sources that could come from adding additional products or services?  Do you have strong strategic alliances in place that will bring you growth in the future? And, have you hired a marketing coach or advertising agency to help your business get the best ROI.  Make sure that by the New Year your business is positioned for success!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

We have all heard of personal trainers, life coaches, career coach specialists , real estate agents who coach you on buying or selling your home, and business consultant/coaches, but do you understand what a  marketing coach is and if you need one?  First, a marketing coach will offer help in key areas of marketing.  They will help to establish realistic marketing and sales objectives for your company’s future, help to establish the identity of your company, coach you in determining your target market and point out possible threats along the way to making you more profitable.  The coach helps you to create a strategic marketing plan on the level that works best for your business, but beyond the plan, a marketing coach helps you to stay focused, on task, and to achieve success for your business.  So, how do you know if you need a marketing coach? The answer to that is if your company is growing at the pace you have set as a goal.  Are your sales strong and are you comfortable that you are using the marketing tools that best suits your business to achieve the most success?

When I first approached a local business with the idea of hiring me as their marketing coach I spent more time helping them to understand what a marketing coach was and how we differ from a business coach.  The economy had cut away at so many marketing departments and many local business owners were left to juggle a long list of responsibilities and marketing was one of the first to be neglected.  When I would start to talk about Facebook, Twitter or Blogging they would shake their heads and say they just didn’t have the time or desire to know more.  That was a couple of years ago, but today I am paid to speak to various business groups about social media and I work one-on-one with CEO’s who have seen their competitors using this marketing tool to gain more exposure, increase sales and reduce expenses for marketing and now they want to know more.  Seeing the landscape of what is working for marketing in real time and what your business should be focusing on is part of what a good marketing coach will offer.

There are so many great reasons to have your own Marketing Coach, but the biggest reason is that it will help you to maximize your potential and keep you motivated towards achieving the success you desire!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Today, I attended a business seminar in Salem, MA. that addressed the financial challenges of new businesses and what they needed for a business plan to receive funding from a bank or other financial source.  In the audience there were mostly people looking to start new businesses that had never owned a business before and a few of us who have established businesses that were looking for new information. As various attendees asked several questions about how they were suppose to start a business with no money and how would they pay themselves in the first couple of years, I realized why so many businesses fail within 3-5 years.  The idea of investing in your own business or using your home as a way to secure a bank loan seemed like an outrageous request to some of these people sitting in the room. And, as a marketing coach/advertising agency, the reaction in the room pointed out one of the key reasons why so many businesses fail….if you are not willing to invest in your own business, then do you really believe in your success?

If you start a business and your first thought when you receive your first payment from a client is to pay yourself out of that check you are hurting the foundation of your business.  Cash is essential to the operations of your business and marketing and advertising costs are something business owners hate to spend money on, but they are the driving force to helping you make sales.  If you cannot go without drawing a paycheck for at least a year or two so that you can build a reserve of cash for your new business and use the money from your sales to generate more sales with a marketing strategy and an advertising campaign, then chances are you will never get your business off the ground.  No matter your great ideas, if you do not have the cash flow and the belief in your company to invest in your business,  your company will probably be one of those statistics that you hear in the news about the percentage of businesses that fail within the first few years.

So, as you are reviewing your business plan, do you have a marketing strategy and a real budget for advertising your business? If I called you today would you know how many items you have to sell or services you need to provide in a week, a month, or a year to hit a break even point in your business so that you could actually know when you are making a profit? Do you have set sales goals in place and a sound marketing plan to help you reach these goals? Do you have money in the budget for advertising? In short, do you truly believe in your own business and are you willing to make positive steps to building a strong foundation to grow on?

If you are still not working with a marketing coach or an advertising agency, perhaps it is time to invest in an area that is key to your success!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

If you have ever looked at the bottom of my Purple Diamond business card you will notice that I have “advertising / marketing / sales” listed as a way to help define Purple Diamond.  We see that each of these components are essential to helping your  business be successful so we look at all 3 parts of your business to make sure they are both efficient and effective to yielding the success you are counting on.  That said, how many business owners truly get what each of these components are and why no one component should be left out of your sales process?

The order that I see these 3 components is the following: marketing, advertising and then sales.  Though there are numerous definitions to these key terms, my definition for “Marketing” is the process of creating an interest for your product or service by defining  who is  your potential customer  and what value does your product or service offer to the client and what sets you apart from your competition.  “Advertising”, often paid,  is the process of communicating a persuasive message to a large group of people or audience to purchase your goods or services. The advertising should be in-line with your marketing message and strategy so that it will help to support the brand of your business.  Finally, the last component is sales. “Sales” is simply whatever it takes to close the deal or get a contract with a signature on it.  Some organizations create a team approach to selling and some decide that they prefer the one on one process that might have a commission incentive attached, but either way it is when you engage with a potential client on a more personal level.

Having a strong background in all 3 of these areas of expertise  is why Purple Diamond continues to offer their own brand of success for business owners north of Boston and beyond.  Whether you are a sole proprietorship or the CEO of a large corporation, consider the benefit of working with a company that understands the entire process of how to get you more sales and can easily identify where you need the most help and offer you a strategy that works within your budget.  Even if you have a marketing director and a sales manager in your employ this does not mean that you have all 3 areas covered effectively.  Often I have seen large organizations have a breakdown between the marketing and sales departments and it has cost them potential clients.  Bringing in an outside agency as a consultant who specializes in this area will improve the performance of your business and help you to close sales and improve the working relationship between departments.

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Last weekend was the “TAX FREE” Massachusetts Holiday and the first place my husband and I thought to shop was at our local BEST BUY store to see what types of savings we could get on components to upgrade our computer systems.  As I looked around the crowded store I commented that consumers are addicted to computer technology and smart phone systems and it has become an essential part of our world in much the same way that the automobile replaced the predominant use of the public transit system in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Most families today grew up with at least one car and many had two and they watched the landscape of their communities move to offering shopping malls and other stores with large parking lots to accommodate their customers who all owned cars, while we watched a deterioration of the railway system that never reached the new shopping malls.  So, what does the comments about automobiles in the 50’s and 60’s  have to do with the impact of technology on consumers today and how you can relate it to help you market  YOUR own business?  Cars and computers both replaced something that once were considered essential and it directly affected how consumers shopped and will shop in the future.
Just like when the automobile became the popular choice of transportation over the railways, computers are now replacing the old systems of finding information like libraries, magazines, newspapers, and waiting for the news or weather report on TV.  Today’s consumer is directly influenced by the breakthrough in computer technology and faster internet services which allows them to be more informed and able to research quickly on-line items that they are considering buying.  Why wait for a commercial or printed advertisement to tell you about a product, when you can quickly find information on the web from your phone or follow the company that offers the product on their social media page, Twitter or blog?  Have you heard that today’s consumer doesn’t like to be “sold” and they often fast forward through commercials?  If you have been to the movies recently or watched any of the new TV shows, you will see that the larger corporations are incorporating product shots in the actual movie or show.  Last night as I watched SyFy’s hit summer show, “Warehouse 13″, they had several product shots of the candy “Twizzlers”.  This use of branding products with popular programming or media is to help “sell” the consumers who do not wish to be sold.

So, what does a small or medium size business do when they do not have the budget to have their product appear in a new hit movie or popular TV show and they need to find a new way to get their message out?  Create a bigger than life splash with the target market you are trying to reach using the resources you do have. Make sure your website looks great, comes up high on SEO rankings and that you are creating current blog content and using the popular social media marketing sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.  Be sure to look for ways your product or service can align itself with larger corporations that already have strong brand recognition.  If your business is B2B in the local area, seek out the most successful businesses in your network and make them part of your inner circle of businesses that you attend events with, “friend” on Facebook and sign-up for their email newsletter.  If you’re trying to extend beyond the local market, take the time to join targeted networking groups on-line and be aggressive on Twitter and other sites for promoting your own blog so that you start to develop a loyal following.  There are many ways to use the technology of today to enhance your business and it will keep changing so be sure to work with a marketing specialist that will help you to understand what you need to do right now to help your business grow. Don’t ignore how much today’s technology has impacted the way your clients shop!

All my best to your success~
Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Recently the question was asked in a LINKEDIN group of marketing professionals what they have found has been the best way for a  starter business to market their business with a limited budget beyond the obvious word-of-mouth,  asking for referrals and collecting names for a database list. Today, I reviewed the 40 pages of answers that have been posted by professionals in the industry and it spoke to what I refer to as  the need for “true marketing”, there is no one solution that fits ALL businesses so please consider hiring a professional to help analyze your needs!

A cookie cutter approach to one of the most essential parts of your business with the belief that it will bring you instant paying customers is just like buying a lottery ticket today with the belief that you will win and have the money that week for your mortgage. The answers that were given to this question on Linkedin ranged from: email marketing, SMS Text Messaging, YouTube postings, social media marketing with Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, SEO [Search Engine Optimization]for your website, Cold Calling, Press Releases, Chamber Memberships and Business Groups, Creative Marketing Message that stands out, Cross Media Marketing, Ad Targeting, Get Bank Loan and Invest in Real Advertising, Blogs and Contributing to On-Line Discussion Groups,  Ad Swaps, Direct Mail, mail Articles to Prospects, no one tool works/target marketing is key, Analysis and Tracking with a good CRM system, Business Card, and Branding Your Business consistently with a clear message. [Note: some of the suggestions offered were from people who sold that one product so Purple Diamond has posted the list as what were offered and not what we believe you need to do.  Purple Diamond believes in a one on one approach in which your business is seen as unique and deserves your own marketing coach/consultant.]  There were even more suggestions than all the ones I have posted here, but what was clear from all the responses were that even the experts have their own thoughts about what is the best low cost method to market your business.  So, if there are so many different views from marketing professionals, how does a business owner who has never worked as a marketing professional know what is best for his business? My first response is to call in an affordable consultant, like Purple Diamond,  to help YOUR business that does not have ties to any one product and has knowledge to what is working in your area and for your industry.  But, if you are not comfortable with hiring a marketing coach, then please look to free services in your area like SCORE or ask key people in your circle of business friends to help you brainstorm ideas.  In my own area there are CEO groups that many of the local business owners have joined that give them direct insight in to what local business owners have tried and found useful.  Please do not leave marketing up to chance.  Today’s economy is one that requires skillful analysis and creative ideas that get results!

All my best to your success!

~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”